Thursday, July 05, 2007

It's the Team Nobody Wants to Play

"Teams don't want to make the trip anymore," Hawaii coach June Jones says. "They come here, we kick their ass, they go home."

Jones has a point.

The Warriors were unable to find a 13th opponent to fill their schedule despite offering $750,000 and a trip to paradise.

Hawaii was put in this position because Michigan State tried for a year to get out of a game in Honolulu — the same one Hawaii now can't replace — before finally paying $250,000 to do so, reports Matt Hayes of the Sporting News.

Michigan State, of course, got beat in its last trip to Hawaii, 41-38, in 2004. The Spartans are not alone. Alabama, Purdue and Arizona State have lost in recent years on the island.

Mississippi State was one team that refused to play Hawaii, and that game would have been played in Starkville. Jones told Hayes that "a couple" of Pacific 10 teams were offered the $750,000 — plus national television coverage — for a game in Honolulu, but declined.

With quarterback Colt Brennan returning, it's not surprising that teams didn't answer the Warriors' call for a 13th game (allowable under a 52-year-old NCAA exemption). Hawaii, you might recall, punted only 16 times in 14 games last season, half of that total coming in the first six games. Ultimately, the loss of an extra game will cost Brennan any shot of winning the Heisman.

Skeptical of the Warriors' talent? Consider this: Hawaii had five players selected in this year's NFL draft. That's more than Nebraska, Georgia, Oklahoma, UCLA or Alabama. Brennan could be next year's No. 1 pick.

And the restocking process has already taken place. Hawaii was the state most efficient in producing Division I-A recruits this year in relation to population.

13 comments:

In football, we're the Warriors, not the Rainbows. The other sports... it gets complicated. :-)

Thanks for bringing up this article for people to read. We have a terribly weak schedule this year, but let it be known that we want the big-name teams. We're not afraid of the BCS schools, it's just the perfect storm of all the factors mentioned in the article and our AD's idiocy that led to this schedule.

Colt is the real deal folks. and he doesnt throw sidearm you retard. he will get drafted in the top 10 if not top 5 next year. and as far as Home Jobs, every team gets them, wether you like to admit it or not. every time a team has complained about officials, we had outside, BCS conf officials and they were just whining about losing to "lowly" hawaii. northwestern and MSU arer whiners.

Critical Fanatic is absolutely right. The main reason no one wants to play Hawaii is because the ref's are in Hawaii's pocket books every game @ Hawaii.

I am not sure if it is because the ref's don't want their vacation ruined or they are receiving $10,000 hand shakes by June Jones, but I have seen enough horribly officiated games in Hawaii to give me the impression that coaches don't want to play there because they know they will get screwed.

"Anonymous said... Critical Fanatic is absolutely right. The main reason no one wants to play Hawaii is because the ref's are in Hawaii's pocket books every game @ Hawaii.

I am not sure if it is because the ref's don't want their vacation ruined or they are receiving $10,000 hand shakes by June Jones, but I have seen enough horribly officiated games in Hawaii to give me the impression that coaches don't want to play there because they know they will get screwed."

you sound like a typical MSU fan

watch this clip:http://youtube.com/watch?v=2jDfszTciy4

Hawaii had calls agains them too you idiot

MSU & Northwestern could not stop Chang & his receivers.

nuff said

if MSU wasn't a bunch of wimps, they'd man up & play Hawaii again in 2007 but they're too afraid to lose to Colt Brennan

hawaii is a beautiful state. University of hawaii is another issue. UH is a university in the WAC (weak athletic conference, wack ass conference, weak ass conference... whatever. all wac people know what i mean) UH & all WAC school is the conference of rejects. Anyone from the west coast that isn't recruited by pac-10 or big 10 school ends up in the WAC. of course COCK Brennan has all those touchdowns & yards. If you play against high school level colleges, you will have great numbers. If UH is that great, why doesn't all the great football players stay there to play?? Don't forget University of Hawaii who USC is??? We can come to your crappy aloha bowl & beat you down anytime. FIGHT ON